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Description

This deck is trying to go wide with flying thopters with mostly flying creatures or creatures that produce flying creatures. It offsets the weakness of traditional favorable winds decks with increased resistance against single target removal. Unlike the module thopters this version does not use energy. I tried to keep the budget low, so not much fancy stuff, manabase is probably the most expensive part of it.

Ornithopter - even though seems useless at first glance, its initial use is to 'ramp' into our improvise spells, while it can serve a purpose also later in the game with various augmenting effects. It can enable explosive openings with turn 2 thopterist

Hope of Ghirapur - a 1/1 flyer for 1, it is artifact in addition to its types, which can be used as improvise ramp when not attacking. The combat damage to player ability can sometimes be relevant, for example to save our board from sweepers, a powerful planeswalker or just to prevent some more powerful spell being countered.

Siren stormtamer - unlike Hope of Ghirapur, it is not an artifact, but still a solid flyer with an ability that can save the attackers from Settle the wreckage. Can sometimes save a more important creature, but generally is rarely needed as more powerful creatures already come in multiples.

Pia Nalaar - an artificer, which means it can get autoequipped with Inventor's googles, making her more durable against damage effects. Comes with a thopter, so even not having flying herself, still gaining more power from Favorable winds. The ability to pump any thopter can be relevant, allowing Ornithopter to get some damage. Only 2 in the deck since she is legendary.

Maverick thopterist - cornerstone of the deck, we get 3 bodies with initial 4 power for 2-5 mana. With Inventor's googles or Favorable winds the output is increased further. This card is also the weakness of the deck as it is so reliant on this card that not drawing him often means a very tough game. Creating two tokens also means that you can leave mana for other improvise cards like Metallic rebuke.

Experimental aviator - Maverick thopterist 5-6. Much more clunkier than Maverick thopterist at 5 mana with no improvise reduction, but on the other hand he has flying and relevant creature type, so he can be augmented with two effects. Still good in grindy matchups, very good late topdeck, but he is usually one of the first cards to get sided out against fast decks or counter heavy decks.

Inventor's googles - the deck packs many artificers and the free equip is nothing to sneeze at. As a cheap artifact, can serve as improvise ramp as tapping it does not affect its abilities. Even if you do not have any artificers yet, it helps push some early damage even with a meager Ornithopter.

Renegade map - seemingly weak card, but it allows us to play much fewer lands and allows starting hands with no more than 1 land. By coming into play tapped it cannot be uses as 'free' spell if followed by an improvise spell, but it ensures we hit early land drops. If we hit them regardless, it is better to leave it uncracked to get some improvise value from it. It is also necessary to get the right color of mana. Overall it should be treated like a mirage fetchland.

Favorable winds - one of most important cards in the deck as every creature flies and the ones who do not, are producing flying creatures. One Favorable winds transforms Ornithopter into a beatstick and doubles tokens damage. Not particularly needed at the start of the game (unless we draw a lot of Ornithopters), it can win a game out of nowhere if topdecked.

Abrade, Lightning strike - removal pack, Abrade can hit any problematic artifact or artifact creatures which are beyond 3 toughness range, like vehicles and gearhulks. Lightning strike gives some extra reach or to get rid of planeswalkers faster. These are flex slots and they can be reshaped depening on local meta.

Metallic rebuke - a mana leak effect which can often be cast by just with one untapped land. Essential to protect our flock of thopters against sweepers or any more problematic threat. It has a downside to become obsolete in late game.

Saheeli Rai - mainly to replicate token producing artificers, she can also continously scry and ping our opponent, which is particularly handy against control. Her ultimate is actually doable, but almost never the best idea.

Reverse engineer - since the deck can dump the hands quite fast, this allows to refill the hand taking advantage of artifacts in the field. It can feel clunky though, especially in starting hand, so usually some copies are sided out at least against aggro matchups

Magma spray - Against more aggresive decks, especially those with recursive threats like Scraphead scrounger or Adorned pouncer. Can hit most of mana dorks too. 2-3 is the best number in the sideboard, still too narrow to have it run in mainboard.

Negate - to fight through sweepers, but it can hit problematic planeswalkers and combo pieces. Full playset, since when you need them, you really need them.

Nimble obstructionist - since the deck itself is not threat dense, additional ones are in sideboard, this one has its purpose mostly against counterspell control decks, with flash can get around sweepers and still holding mana to counter. Its ability can be sometimes lifesaving like countering abilities from Ixalan's binding, Hostage taker or a planeswalker's ultimate.

River's rebuke - one of better blue sideboard cards, can serve as one time out of jail free ticket against midrange and go wide opposing decks, especially if the opponent has flyers too to defend himself.

Sentinel totem - against various graveyard shenanigans. Not the best anti-graveyard card, but cheap enough to serve as improvise ramp in early game and scry is handy too.

Cards that did not make a cut:

Glorybringer - it is a flyer, good on its own, but otherwise is not really in philosophy of the deck. It can be useful if facing many 4- toughness creatures, especially those which can block our flock of flyers.

Metallic mimic - the deck is heavy on thopter tribal, mimic is also an artifact to improvise, but the fact he does not benefit from Favorable winds and making him an artificer (for Inventor's googles) is not the best idea, makes it less appealing. Especially since all creatures costing more than 1 mana have an impact when entering the battlefield. Should it make a cut, it would most probably replace some removal or counterspell package. Good if opponents going big with creatures, bad if packing a lot of removal.

Vanquisher's banner - too expensive of the deck as it already has some 5-drops and naming thopter will rarely trigger the second ability having only 7 actual thopter spells and only 8 artificers is not enough to name them either.

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